Tomorrow's Destiny
by Kinsmen From A Far Star
Summary: The Eleventh Doctor has returned to a Gallifray torn apart by civil war. The Twelfth Doctor has stepped out of the TARDIS into London, 2012, and knows that something has seriously gone wrong. Something is tearing the universe apart and both Doctor's find themselves racing against time to find what has caused the timelines to splinter before all reality comes asunder.
1. Prelude

**Tomorrow's Destiny**

* * *

Today was the day. It had been a day prepared for a long time, hundreds of years as matter of fact. He'd searched every corner of the universe in every era of time. All of that was trivial of course, because for him the time just went by. He had a purpose that was never doubted. The Doctor would return home, even if he had no clue what he'd do once he was there.

He'd finally found what he was looking for in a time anomaly deep in dark space, unseen by all but him. It was a rip in time as black as the darkness it rested in and no one but a time sensitive could have ever spotted it. Thus, no Daleks or Cybermen had happened upon it. It was meant to be only found by him alone. Through the darkness of this tear in time was his tunnel back home, into the pocket of time and space his sensors could only confirm it was the one he was looking for.

Obviously at some point, the Time Lords had broken out of the pocket universe by themselves and created a permanent gateway. Much more defensible than returning the entire Gallifray to a hostile universe. As much as longed to dive through the very moment he confirmed it, there was something he had to do first. He had a promise to keep.

"Here I was thinking you'd be doing somersaults in joy," Clara said, looking at the screens. "You doubt it?"

"I believe in it," the Doctor replied, pushing the scanner away. "It's just... so many outcomes. What if I'm unwelcome?"

"You saved the entire planet! How could they just turn their back on you now?" Clara questioned.

"Time Lords have never been a very thankful kind, I must admit," the Doctor said as he moved around the controls preparing the TARDIS to safely voyage through the wormhole. "Even if they do spare some gratitude, I doubt there will be any parades."

"Should do," Clara reckoned.

"We aren't the parade kind either," the Doctor replied, flicking the final switch and send them under way. The TARDIS rocked back and forth as it tumbled through the stable vortex tunnel. "If I can just go there, see that Gallifray is safe again, then it will all have been worth it."

"I bet it will be," Clara said, "safe in a pocket of time and all."

"We'll find out," the Doctor answered, neither hopeful or doubtful. He flicked a switch and brought them back to normal space. Immediately, the scanner lit up with images of a great orange planet hanging in the midst of starless space orbiting a single yellow sun. The Doctor simply froze and lost himself staring up at the scanner.

"Sometimes I think I'm just dreaming," the Doctor mused, "any moment now, I'll wake and I've gone nowhere."

"It's real," Clara told him. "Really real. Big question though. Where did they get a sun from?"

"Well, remember-" the Doctor paused, quickly remembering himself. There was no need to drag up memories that she should never have. "The TARDIS holds a star within itself as power. It's more than likely a TARDIS was sacrificed to create an artificial star for Gallifray to orbit. A noble sacrifice it would have been."

The Doctor tore his gaze away from that star ad returned it to the planet. On closer inspection, Gallifray was still scared with craters and vast spans of orange nothingness. Clara noticed the lack of any visible water and that there was only clouds at the equator and the most tiny polar ice caps. The scars the Daleks had left behind would be long lasting.

"Not exactly at its best, is it?" Clara asked.

"No," the Doctor replied grimly, going back to the controls. "Things must be bad. I should have been challenged by time-space control as soon as we materialized here. I'm running pretty visible here, so if they've lost the ability to monitor the very space above the planet... then things must really be bad. I'm taking us to the Capitol."

The Doctor didn't exactly desire to test his luck trying to travel through the Vortex in this pocket universe. Things would go very badly. So he brought it in on manual, the blue police box spinning as it descended down to Gallifray beyond. All communications continued to stay silent and there was a growing sickly feeling in his gut. Clara could sense his uneasiness and was hanging at the very edge of the Control Room. Despite a few adventures throughout those centuries, this was the one trip he'd promised. She'd helped save this world so it was fully within his right to allow her to see it again, no matter what response it was going to invoke. He'd stop caring what Time Lords thought half a dozen regenerations ago.

He flicked on the scanner, wary of any incoming fire an unannounced visitor to a pocket universe one might receive. Some weapons didn't exactly present the true nature of their target, so it was best the TARDIS avoided being hit by any friendly fire. Not that the simple hand held weapons could damage a Time Ship, though it was damage he'd rather avoid.

It came though as they cleared the cloud cover over the Capitol. Ancient alarms he hadn't used since his ninth incarnation came alight, bleeping to alert him. The TARDIS didn't wait for his input, throwing itself out of the way of an incoming missile. The Doctor took control, alert to several projectiles that seemed to lock onto them. It was a simple matter of waiting until they were heading straight for him then activate the dematerialization process only half way, taking the TARDIS out of physical space but without sending it into the Vortex. The missiles continued to head for them and ended up circling a non-existent target until they collided and exploded.

"Primitive," the Doctor muttered as he brought the TARDIS into position to continue its flight downwards, "too primitive."

With that, he wondered if who really had a hand in opening that time tunnel and allowing him to return here.

The TARDIS slowed its descent and touched down in the midst of Arcadia, just beyond the Citadel. The Doctor realized he'd been too caught up in evasive action and landing that he had't taken the chance to glimpse his surroundings. Maybe he just wanted to ignore them. When he looked at the scanner, what he saw broke his two hearts. Arcadia was a desolate wasteland, a skeleton of a city. There was no life, just dust breezing in the wind through the ruins.

Both of them said nothing, just looking at the scanner. The Doctor finally blinked, tearing his eyes away.

"It's only been four weeks," Clara said, trying to rationalize it. "They wouldn't have come back after that short a time."

It had been only four weeks for her, but time on Gallifray always moved parallel to that aboard the individual pocket dimensions of a TARDIS, unless by a miracle that law didn't seem to apply with the planet in another universe. He didn't place anything in far fetched hopes. After all, it could have been thousands of years that could have passed on Gallifray.

"Come on," the Doctor said, putting on his coat. "It's about time I got my resolution."

* * *

Arcadia was empty. The Doctor and Clara stood on an open plaza as the sun set over the horizon. Slowly, lights began to flicker on in the distance, inside the Citadel itself. The glass dome was shattered and lights seemed to appear throughout the towers, if sparsely. While that was no comfort to the Doctor, that at least made Clara somewhat hopeful.

"They'd go the Citadel, right?" Clara asked. "Looks like the safest place."

"That's debatable," the Doctor stated, remaining grim. "They possibly just tried to shoot us out of the sky. I'm looking at very desperate and desperate people are dangerous."

"Then you'll help them," Clara told him. "You've never turned your back on anyone and I doubt you'll turn away from your own people."

The Doctor didn't answer that, just scowling at the few signs that life remained on this planet. He stopped and seemed to knell down on the ground and Clara was stumped to what he was actually doing. Slowly the Doctor lowered his head to the ash covered ground and planted it against the surface of Gallifray. He closed his eyes for a moment, as if in reflection.

"They're coming," he announced, stumbling back up to his feet. "I can hear movement, underground. Stay close to me."

Before Clara could speak, the Doctor was virtually standing side by side as dust billowed into the air blinding them. The ruins shook and all the ash was thrown up. Secret manholes popped up out of the ground and before they could react, dozens of orange cloaked humanoids climbed up. They looked like Time Lords but their faces were hidden behind hoods, scarves and goggles, all these being makeshift face masks. Soon, they were surrounded. The swarm didn't end and eventually there was hundreds crowding around them.

The Doctor stayed silent and if it possibly couldn't get worse, it did. The crowd cleared to one side of the plaza as grey armoured soldiers began to pour in, forming an orderly line opposing the crowd. Both factions began a stare off. With tensions on edge and trapped between the orange and grey factions, the Doctor finally took action and stepped forward.

"Hello everyone. I'm the Doctor."

The orange mob broke into cheers and applause. The soldiers just looked baffled. With the dust no longer blinding her eyes, Clara finally actually regained some sense of proper vision and she suddenly realized how old everyone looked. The wrinkled faces and grey hair under those steel helmets made them look like they should be in a retirement home, not fighting a riot. On the other side with the orange mob, she noticed that barely of any of them even began to match their height. While the soldiers held riot shields, the youths wielded metal poles torn from the ruins.

"Now," the Doctor told them. "Could someone please explain what is going on here?"

* * *

**Author's Afterword: **

**Thus begins an idea I just couldn't get out of my head, thus I just had to vent. The Eleventh Doctor has returned home and not all is right. It'll just get crazier on from here and be my desired version of what the Doctor's return to Gallifray should be. The classic series Time Lord characters will just pour in from here. **


	2. Chapter One: Two Sides of the Coin

**Chapter One: Two Sides of the Coin**

* * *

"Now," the Doctor told them. "Could someone please explain what is going on here?"

The crowd silently stared. Eventually, the leader of the guardsmen stepped forward.

"On the authority of the High Council, I must return you to the Citadel, Doctor," the Guardsman shouted at him. The mob of youths broke into uproar, chucking chunks of concrete at the guardsmen, who took cover behind their shield wall. The mob screamed, starting into a brawl. Soon, the High Council's soldiers fought back, driving back into the crowd with shock weapons. Some fired rifles.

The Doctor was lost into the crowd, dozens of hands grabbing his arms and coat. In the hundreds swarming around him, Clara vanished. Before he could protest, two firm hands grabbed him and dragged him from the crowd by force. The Guardsmen overcame the crowd and seized him. The Doctor struggled, pulling himself free and shoving the guardsmen back.

The dark plaza was illuminated by light, an unidentified aircraft suddenly hovering above the crowd. In the face of the light, the mob shouted and screamed. Soon, lasers shot down from the gunship. The rebels broke into a full retreat, disappearing into the ruins and the tunnels. They vanished as quickly as they came, but the Doctor could still hear their shouts in the distance.

There were no deaths on the plaza thankfully, but dozens of guardsmen and rebels lay wounded, unable to move and left behind by their compatriots. The Doctor suddenly realized it and looked around frantically as he realized he was minus one Human. The Guardsmen had only grabbed him. The captain of the guard stood in front of him.

"Doctor," the captain told him. "We have orders to return you to the Citadel."

"I can't," the Doctor answered. "There was-"

"I know, I saw her," the captain cut him off. "Carried away by the rebels. Sadly to say, pursuit is impossible now. If you do want to do something about it, you should come with us. The President awaits you."

"No," the Doctor refused. "I am not leaving without her."

"You jump in those tunnels and you won't come back," the captain told him. "Even if you survive, you'll never find them."

"Could you please explain to me why we're fighting to begin with!?" the Doctor shouted.

"There's been an uprising, milord, amongst certain of the citizenry" the Captain told him. The Guardsman now recovered their fallen and beat the fallen rebels with shock batons, knocking them unconscious. Others were shot with low powered energy weapons. "It's being contained."

"Contained?" the Doctor questioned, disgusted. He looked at the ruins around him. "Things couldn't get worse, could they?"

"I'm afraid not, milord," the captain answered. "Now, we must return to the Citadel immediately before they return with greater numbers."

* * *

The Citadel was still in ruins like the rest of the planet, only here, there seemed to be some attempt at repair and restoration. There was much in ruins, but the occupants were anything but messy. Supplies were neatly stacked and as they drew closer to what the Doctor knew was the central chambers were the Council could usually be found, there seemed to be Guardsmen at every post. The security was certainly tighter than what he was used to.

He was shown into a greeting chamber and the Doctor remained undaunted. He didn't know if he was walking into a friendly reception or to the waiting rage of Rassilon himself. The Doctor pushed the door open and found a chamber of completely unrecognisable Time Lords accompanied by a President he'd never seen before, not in any regeneration.

"Ah, Doctor," the President said, lowering his cup of tea. The elderly Time Lord looked ancient, like he'd wound up a thousand years on a single Regeneration. He had a long white beard, almost reminding the Doctor of old Saint Nick, especially with the choice of red.

"We'd been informed of your return," the President stated, standing up and approaching him. "I am Auralies, serving President of the High Council."

"The High Council doesn't look like much these days," the Doctor commented, looking around the room, seeing only a dozen lords and ladies all unknown to him, possibly only recently ascended from being minor bit players in old council. He had no respect for any of them. They sat here in the Citadel while Gallifray was further torn apart by conflict, this time between its own people. While admissibly a mark-up from a tyrannical regime, the councillors before him were just tired and possibly inept. He could just in a glimpse at survey everything that was going wrong here.

The Doctor knew coming back wouldn't be easy, but never did he think it would be this bad save for finding no one alive at all. He wanted nothing more than to ascend to the highest tower of the Citadel and shout to all below that the time for beating each other in the streets was over and it was time to restore their civilization back to stability. This was madness.

"We make do with what we have," President Auralies told him. "No doubt you have many questions. You deserve answers."

"Who attempted to shoot down my TARDIS?" the Doctor questioned.

"Unknown to us. It could have been anything from rebels believing it a Council ship to our own forces assuming it was an inbound Dalek," Auralies explained. That sent a chill through the Doctor.

"The Daleks are still here?" the Doctor questioned, not keen on hearing the answer.

"When you transported Gallifray to this pocket universe, you took away their air superiority," Auralies stated. "A tactical decision I respect. With the Dalek fleet out of the way, our own Battle TARDIS's were enough to destroy the Dalek assault ships on the surface before they could ascend. What came afterwards was a pyrrhic victory at best. The ground war we were forced to fight cost us immensely, but the Daleks have been reduced to remnants in hiding. Admissibly, even this poor result was at the cost of ninety nine percent of the capable population."

"Ninety nine?" the Doctor questioned, not believing that statistic. His self-restraint broke and the next sentence bubbled out. "How!?"

"We didn't have enough soldiers. The Daleks were relentless. Every able adult was conscripted. What has happened now however is a result of our current situation here..." Auralies took a seat back down. The Doctor had figured it out since he'd touched down on Gallifray and seen the populace. "Doctor, in this new universe, the rules changed. We Time Lords cannot longer regenerate here."

"So all Gallifray is left with is the youth and you," the Doctor summarized. He didn't exactly want to mull over the nasty details. How low had the High Council gone when it came to conscripts? Twenty year olds? Maybe even as low as thirteen? What the war had left Gallifray with was an army of rebellious child soldiers and civilization preserved by a bunch of old folks held up in a fallen fortress. Great.

"We've searched all of what is left of our archives," Auralies said. "We've searched for the answer and found none. You however, are hope. If you created this universe, Doctor, surely you know the way to return Gallifray back?"

That just made him shudder with dread.

"I'm afraid my lord President, that I do not know how to transition us back," the Doctor told him, waiting for Auralies crushed hopes and maybe possible rage. The elderly Time Lord however didn't even flinch.

"I thought so," Auralies replied. "I didn't ride all my hope upon the solitary chance that you might. How did you reach us?"

"A Vortex tunnel," the Doctor explained. "I'd actually thought it was you who opened it. But... obviously not. I expect it was a one way ride."

"Dark tidings then," the President mumbled, sighing. "Do you have the faintest clue what's happening to us?"

"Physically or socially?" the Doctor questioned. "Physically, things are obviously very wrong. To do this theory quickly, think of a bubble. All these other bubbles clinging on are the pocket universes. Gallifray is one of those and shares in the rules of the main universe, but what's happened is the bubble has split and Gallifray is drifting from the main universe across the cosmos of reality. The further we move away, the more the laws change as we drift and possibly become part of another universe altogether. Very bad, because that universe may not even allow matter to exist."

"Such science of the multiverse," another Councillor spoke up. "Where did you learn such theories, Doctor? Such knowledge we did not even possess at our height."

"Well, once met the Devil Archetype and Old Lights," the Doctor told them. "I picked up some minor knowledge of the multiverse. What matters though is that we return to our proper universe before it is too late, by any means."

"That has been the general idea Doctor, for the past forty years," President Auralies told him. "We've had little luck."

The Doctor couldn't help but appreciate that they listened. If he'd up his theory with the old High Council, he'd be laughed off Gallifray. Obviously this new make shift Council were possibly making him feel appreciated, purely because swaying him would pay off and they could use him down the track to quash the uprising on their hands. Or maybe, for the first time in his life, he was actually in a room of Time Lords who looked up to him and valued his opinion. Saving the planet obviously bought some respect.

"You could have more luck if you weren't busy infighting," the Doctor continued. "Now, what's wrong with Gallifray really? That I can glimpse very easily."

"We are no strangers to uprisings," Auralies said. "It was at the very beginning of the Time War that one deposed President Romana."

"This one however," another councillor continued, "is quite same. What remains of the military stands with the High Council. It is the youngest and more liberal amongst us is who is against us."

"Ungrateful children," an elderly Time Lady spat. "We fought for Gallifray's survival while they wept and cowered. They pay us back by insurrection."

"Get to the root here," the Doctor told the President. "Why?"

"Previously, we had respect," Auralies explained. "The children who'd remained non-combatants throughout the war respected the soldiery. It was however, certain trouble makers who began the minor issues. The youngsters who'd taken up arms from fallen guardsmen and fought against the Daleks in the battle of Arcadia felt they needed give the High Council no respect. Troublemakers they were, but there was no rebellion."

"It changed however," the President's chancellor continued. "They had no cause other than general resentment. It changed however, when certain anarchists appeared, spreading a new idea. This idea was that they needed give their elders no respect, that now was of all times, the time to rise up and overthrow the High Council. To alter the Time Lord's role in the universe. They practically demand that we resign and they implement a new regime. One with future plans to control time rather than guard it."

"Philosophical debates aside," Auralies said, "I refused purely in that I stand for a Gallifray rebuilt. Never before have we had a crisis on this scale. I've converted all our TARDIS's to power stations and agricultural facilities needed to supply us. I refuse to turn over an already fragile rule into the hands of youngsters who have no clue about how to govern, let alone rebuild a civilization."

"Yet, this has not deterred their mob rule," the chancellor stated. "What you witnessed on landing was but a minor skirmish. Most have been far more bloody. We'd hoped you'd be able to defuse this. They view with a... words inferring such religiosity have been lost from all our tongues, but a fitting term would be Messianic reputation."

"I see your argument," the Doctor said. The High Council had a valid reason for once. That of course was the conflict from one side. There was always another side. "Discontent must have been high to begin with for them to be tearing down what little is left. Where is the other one percent in this? Time Lords like me? And surely, not every child is out to get you."

"There are a few here in the Citadel carrying out minor tasks, our own descendants, but they have made it clear they will never take arms against their fellows," Auralies told him. "It literally is almost universal though. With their parents gone, they've literally gone to caring for each other. The non-combatant elements of our able population have gone to caring for the younger orphans and rebuilding while others still hunt Daleks in the wilderness. Unless the General's army returns to the Capitol, unlikely since he's thus ignored all of our most urgent summons, they are too little to have any effect."

"I see," the Doctor replied.

"If we could, we'd all be willing to regenerate to younger forms, but that is sadly not an option," Auralies told him. "Every day, more of us fall prey to age, becoming only burdens. As much as claimed otherwise, I feel that you are still our best hope, a return to our home universe or not."

"I can't promise anything," the Doctor told them. "I'll neither guarantee an end to this uprising or salvation. But Gallifray is my home and I'll never give up on it. I plan on doing what I can. I need to know however, where is President Romana? Any notable Time Lords?"

"You may not want to hear this, but we suspect they are no longer amongst the living," Auralies told him. "Nothing has been seen of the deposed President Romana since Rassilon returned. He himself is confirmed slain."

"The Master?" the Doctor questioned, wanting to know where that wild card fell in all of this.

"I wasn't aware he was on Gallifray," Auralies said, frowning. "If you believe he is here, then we have heard nothing of him, nor none of your cohort. There have been minor sightings of the Monk and Rani however. Whether they are still survivors or mere ghosts of the Time War is unknown."

The Doctor didn't personally have any fears concerning the Rani. As much as he challenged her ethics, the Rani was still loyal to Gallifray. She'd possibly have a better idea about Gallifray's position in the universe that the Councillors right now. The Monk however, was another thing entirely. He didn't know if he wanted to even cross paths. Optimistically, he was making amends for prior sins but the Doctor wouldn't dismiss suspicions of looting. If they were threats, he'd have to deal with them both in short time, and find wherever the Master had escaped to, possibly to the heart of this revolution. He had the charisma and intelligence to take charge of confused and angry youths and was powerful enough to conceal his true identity.

"I know where I am going next," the Doctor announced. "To the heart of this rebellion. Mind pointing me in the right direction?"

"It's centralized recently," the chancellor told him. "A lull of attacks in the recent months as they organize. They have three strongholds. One is a military bunker under Arcadia, another is the Academy and the third is the TARDIS bays inside this Citadel itself. We've sealed off the lower floors they've taken over and that's kept them from invading any further."

"I'm going to visit all of them," the Doctor said. "I've got a friend to find in this chaos. I hope you don't have any objections?"

"See fit to do what every necessary, Doctor," the President told him. "I trust in you to bring peace."

"Thank you," the Doctor said, nodding. He might actually have some respect for this emergency President. "I'll be back."

* * *

The tunnels underneath Arcadia were squalid and smelled of ashes. Obviously they'd been previously for the military to move about but they'd been taken over by these dissidents. Clara had been pushed along the entire trip with little explanation. Being taking prisoner wasn't very appealing, but in this chaotic situation, going along with it seemed like the best choice at the moment. The hundreds of rebels rushed through the tunnels at a jogging pace. At the back, she was shepherded along by two rebels wielding their own rifles.

They reached their destination, a great underground pit. There were dozens of floors, all filled with refugees and rebels at arms. While the mob that returned mostly consisted of Time Lords who looked no older than teenagers, this underground base was filled with everyone age down from that, even some crying infants. There had to be thousands of them here, hiding underground.

All that she passed glaring at her strangeness warily. A small band of six escorted her along to a platform on a floor below a balcony, like a floor before a judge. Above, dozens of Time Lords seemed to gather, all staring down. Behind them, a pillar that shot out light from an impossible space inside. It was a TARDIS, possibly nicked from the actual military.

Clara looked up and found at the centre of this was a Time Lady, the oldest one possibly around at the age of maybe early twenties. She had jet black hair and possessed green eyes that only stared back down at her, filled with something that was dangerous. The Time Lady held her hands up and the crowd around them silenced.

"A Human of Earth on Gallifray," the Time Lady spoke up. "Never officially has there been one."

"If it helps, I feel privileged," Clara replied, hoping to maybe defuse this a bit down to a conversation rather than alien interrogation.

"I'm sure you do," the Time Lady answered, looking about. "There is only one way possibly you could have come to be here. This only confirms it! There is no greater evidence that it is in fact truly the Doctor who has returned!"

The entire pit bust up into cheers and applause. They obviously did have something of a Doctor appreciation society. That made Clara somewhat more relaxed, but she couldn't help but worry about whom it was then who the Doctor ended up with.

"The Doctor has been taken prisoner by the High Council!" a voice called out. The chamber burst into commotion until they were silenced by their leader again.

"There is nothing the Council can muster to contain the Doctor," the Time Lady stated. "He will make his way here with time. As matter of fact, approaching at this very moment."

That prophecy left them in a silence that was broken moments later when the familiar wheezing of the TARDIS sounded through the pit. The materialization completed and they were left with a blue box standing right behind Clara, who was honestly stumped how they'd seen this coming. The door opened and the Doctor stepped out onto the platform beside her.

"Ah, Clara," the Doctor said, "Third times the charm. I almost got fried in a TARDIS foundry. Now, what do we have here?"

The Doctor turned faced the leadership of the rebellion standing above them. Clara watched as the reaction wasn't as expected.

"Grandfather," the Time Lady said.

* * *

**Author's Afterword:**

Now I get something moving. Purely a chapter of dressed up exposition, but necessary at that. For this particular story, I like things to move faster than my usual pace. Thus, I've thrown in all the warning for what is to come. Dalek Remnants, the Monk, Rani and the Master. For the record, at the End of Time, I take it that the Master tore Rassilon's mortal form asunder (or killed the President wasn't 'the' Rassilon to begin with). Don't forget however, the greater enemy lurking in the shadows, an enemy the Doctor never expected, never prepared for...

Just wanted to go back and pull out the references involved. On the Doctor's multiverse theory, it's constructed out of the Doctor's encounter in the Satan Pit as well as the SJA episode involving the Great Lights, sentient stars who existed before the Big Bang which apparently rewrote the rules of the universe. Why Gallifray's pocket universe is travelling of course, is the greater mystery.


End file.
